Olympics-Athletics-Jamaica's Fraser-Pryce says pre-race light show was long

"I didn't know it (the light show) was going to happen but it is what it is, you just refocus and you get going," she told reporters after the race. When asked if the display was distracting, she said: "I think (it was) more the wait, it was long, but it is what it is, it was okay." Defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, produced a performance for the ages as she broke the Olympic record and become the second-fastest woman in history. Another of the finalists, Switzerland's Ajla del Ponte, who finished fifth in 10.97, also had no idea about the light show.

Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was excited about winning silver in her country's clean sweep of the 100 metres medals on Saturday but said she had not been aware there would be a pre-race light show which "was long".

As the finalists lined up on the starting blocks, all lights in the stadium went dark. As journalists gasped in the tribunes, baffled as to what was happening, a light show began, projecting the finalists' faces and names on the track. Then intense spotlights amid the darkened stadium focused in on the runners.

Fraser-Pryce, who had been seeking a third gold in the event, took silver in 10.74 seconds with Shericka Jackson third at 10.76 in the Tokyo Olympic Stadium. "I didn't know it (the light show) was going to happen but it is what it is, you just refocus and you get going," she told reporters after the race.

When asked if the display was distracting, she said: "I think (it was) more the wait, it was long, but it is what it is, it was okay." Defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, produced a performance for the ages as she broke the Olympic record and become the second-fastest woman in history.

Another of the finalists, Switzerland's Ajla del Ponte, who finished fifth in 10.97, also had no idea about the light show. "We didn't know," she said when asked whether they were aware that the display was planned. "At some point it was a little bit long. We just wanted to go."

When the race finally started, it was blistering fast with six sprinters out of the eight finalists running under 11 seconds. Fraser-Pryce said it pointed to the level female sprinting had reached with the sprinters able to put on such a show on the grandest of stages.

"I'm really excited that female sprinting is going (to) another level... and that's truly remarkable," she told reporters. "It speaks to the depth that we have in terms of females and you just always have to show up and be ready. "I am still excited that I walk away yet again with another medal," she added.

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